This booklet showcases how 8x8 have supported local government associations with cloud communications tools that expedite information sharing and speeds co
The cancellation of local elections, closure of schools and businesses and potential family visit bans to care homes are emergency responses to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.
Amid these testing times, local authorities are pooling resources, and maintaining a flow of clear and accurate information to their communities, stakeholders and staff.
However, many councils still use traditional contact centre and communication tools, which restrict staff working from home. Increased inbound calls have also resulted in long wait times, impacting service delivery.
8x8 Cloud communications technology helps thinly-stretched councils to ensure seamless business continuity while offering a blueprint for future business resilience and agility.
This booklet showcases how 8x8 have supported local government associations with cloud communications tools that expedite information sharing and speeds communications within local authorities, their service delivery partners and the citizens they serve during this global crisis.
Chris Bayliss, 8x8 Public Sector Sales Executive
Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council is a local authority in Greater London. It provides a broad range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and is a local education authority.
The council employs more than 3,500 staff and serves a local population of around 212,000 people living in the borough's three main towns of Barking, Chadwell Heath and Dagenham.
8x8 helped the Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council to rapidly deploy an emergency contact centre to mitigate the risk of coronavirus spreading in the customer services team and impacting local service delivery.
Within two weeks, 8x8 set up the rapid response cloud contact centre that allowed the council's customer service agents to work from home during this global coronavirus pandemic.
The solution provides:
Sefton is the local authority playing a vital role in the Liverpool City Region. The council employs more than 2,600 staff and serves a local population of around 280,000 people across towns including Bootle, Litherland, Seaforth, Crosby, Formby, Maghull and Southport.
8x8 helped Sefton Council to rapidly deploy home working capabilities for contact centre agents to ensure business as usual during the COVID-19 pandemic, as their existing on-premises system could not scale nor support the council's remote working requirements.
8x8 solutions encompass rapidly deployable cloud communications tools that:
Provide a phased delivery for multiple communication channels and secure PCI-compliant card payment facilities.
Procurement was awarded on the G Cloud framework.
The States of Guernsey is the parliament of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. With 5500 employees, the Island’s government is responsible for a population of 66,000, covering everything from immigration control to prisons and traffic management to policing.
On 25 March, the States of Guernsey implemented an island-wide “lockdown” for an initial two-week initial period, placing restrictions on people’s freedom of movement, enforceable under the Emergency Powers (Coronavirus) statutory instrument.
8x8 in partnership with the States’ preferred technology partner, Agilisys rapidly deployed a cloud contact centre, enabling the States’ contact centre staff to work from home during the outbreak.
8x8 cloud contact centre provides cutting-edge capabilities that:
The London Borough of Bexley lies on the south-east edge of Greater London. It borders the River Thames to the north including communities such as Belvedere, Thamesmead, Bexleyheath and Bexley.
The council employ 2,700 workers who are responsible for delivering the full range of public services to around 246,000 residents.
London Borough of Bexley prides itself on being innovative by searching for new and smarter ways of delivering better value and doing things differently.
Amid the current coronavirus crisis, the council partnered with 8x8 for the rapid deployment of cloud communication services to transition employees to work from home and respond to surging resident calls.
8x8 cloud communications tools:
The need for local authorities to be able to communicate directly with people when dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has never been greater.
At 8x8, we remain steadfast in our commitment to provide robust communication systems that help local government associations focus their efforts on their priority areas of social care, providing vital support for vulnerable people and supporting their local economies.
We continue to work diligently with our public sector partners and are fully prepared to serve our communities and aid our customers as their trusted local government cloud communications provider.
We are here to help you:
Enable council staff, stakeholders and service delivery partners, to work remotely where possible, mitigating the risk of COVID-19 transmission.